---
layout: docs
page_title: Auto-auth with Kubernetes
description: >-
  Use Kubernetes for auto-authentication with Vault Agent or Vault Proxy.
---

# Auto-auth method: Kubernetes

The `kubernetes` method reads in a Kubernetes service account token from the
running pod (via `/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token`) and
sends it to the [Kubernetes Auth
method](/vault/docs/auth/kubernetes/).

## Configuration

- `role` `(string: required)` - The role to authenticate against on Vault
- `token_path` `(string: optional)` - The file path to a custom JWT token to use
  for authentication. If omitted, the default service account token path is used.

## Tutorial

Refer to the [Vault Agent with
Kubernetes](/vault/tutorials/kubernetes/agent-kubernetes)
tutorial to learn how to authenticate the clients using a Kubernetes Service Account Token and manage the tokens lifecycle.
